Top Items:
Paul Kane / Washington Post:
Senate Republicans filibuster Hagel nomination — Senate Republicans delivered a sharp rebuke to President Obama on Thursday when they began a filibuster of Chuck Hagel's nomination as secretary of defense. — The confirmation process stalled Thursday when GOP senators deprived Hagel …
Discussion:
Politico, msnbc.com, The Fix, The Atlantic Online, The Daily Caller, TalkLeft, Outside the Beltway and Post Politics
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Hayes Brown / ThinkProgress:
McCain Says He's Opposing Hagel Because Hagel Was Mean To Bush — Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) told us how he really feels about Defense Secretary nominee Chuck Hagel on Fox News this afternoon, saying “people don't forget” when you cross your own party. — Speaking to Fox News host Neil Cavuto …
Discussion:
The Maddow Blog and The National Memo
Chris Cillizza / The Fix:
Why Republicans are filibustering Chuck Hagel — Senate Republicans have decided — against the Fix's counsel! — to require Chuck Hagel to get 60 votes in order to be confirmed as the next Secretary of Defense. — (There is a fair amount of legislative gobbledygook, which we explained here …
Discussion:
Balloon Juice, Politico, No More Mister Nice Blog, CNN, Red Alert Politics, alan.com, Right Turn, Hot Air and Taegan Goddard's …
Washington Post:
Senate Democrats to force vote to end debate on Hagel nomination
Senate Democrats to force vote to end debate on Hagel nomination
Discussion:
DownWithTyranny!, The Plum Line, The Lonely Conservative, LewRockwell.com Blog, The Mahablog, Taking Note and The Dish
Justin Sink / The Hill:
White House endorses Senate sequester plan, urges House Republicans to act
White House endorses Senate sequester plan, urges House Republicans to act
Discussion:
The Reaction
David Weigel / Slate:
“Friends of Hamas”: The Scary-Sounding Pro-Hagel Group That Doesn't Actually Exist
“Friends of Hamas”: The Scary-Sounding Pro-Hagel Group That Doesn't Actually Exist
Fred Kaplan / Slate:
Why Republicans Can No Longer Be Trusted on National Security
Why Republicans Can No Longer Be Trusted on National Security
Discussion:
Booman Tribune, Washington Monthly, Fox News, American Prospect, Taylor Marsh and Politico
Ian Swanson / The Hill:
Senate Republicans block Hagel nomination for Defense secretary
Senate Republicans block Hagel nomination for Defense secretary
Discussion:
The Maddow Blog, Politico, Flopping Aces, Talking Points Memo, Israel Matzav and The Impolitic
BBC:
Meteor strike injures hundreds in central Russia — The BBC's Daniel Sandford says people described a ball of fire in the sky — A meteor crashing in central Russia's Ural mountains has injured at least 500 people, as the shockwave blew out windows and rocked buildings.
Discussion:
alan.com, Guardian, CNN, Voice of Russia, News, NBCNews.com, Mediaite, Macleans.ca, AMERICAblog and NBC Southern California
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Reuters:
Meteorite hits central Russia, more than 500 people hurt — (Reuters) - More than 500 people were injured when a meteorite shot across the sky and exploded over central Russia on Friday, sending fireballs crashing to Earth, shattering windows and damaging buildings.
Discussion:
Taylor Marsh, The Gateway Pundit, The Verge, Mashable! and The Week
Judicial Watch:
JW Releases Confidential USDA Videos Revealing “Cultural Sensitivity Training” Program … Videos Reveal Indoctrination Program Requiring USDA Staffers to Bang on Tables, Chant, “The pilgrims were illegal aliens” — (Washington, DC) - Judicial Watch today released previously unseen USDA videos revealing …
Discussion:
Power Line, The Lonely Conservative and Washington Examiner
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Caroline May / The Daily Caller:
Confidential, expensive USDA sensitivity training: ‘The Pilgrims were illegal aliens’ [VIDEOS] — Footage of the United States Department of Agriculture's compulsory “Cultural Sensitivity Training” program reveals USDA employees being instructed to refer to the Pilgrims as “illegal aliens” …
Discussion:
The Volokh Conspiracy and The Right Scoop
Mike Lillis / The Hill:
Pelosi: Congressional pay cut undermines dignity of the job — House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Thursday that she opposes a cut in congressional pay because it would diminish the dignity of lawmakers' jobs. — “I don't think we should do it; I think we should respect the work we do …
Discussion:
Right Turn, Washington Examiner, The PJ Tatler, The Gateway Pundit, Weasel Zippers and The Lonely Conservative
Jennifer Medina / New York Times:
Over a Decade, Maureen O'Connor Spent $1 Billion on Bets — LOS ANGELES — A former mayor of San Diego spent the last decade wagering more than a billion dollars at casinos across the country, eventually liquidating her savings, auctioning her belongings, selling off real estate …
Discussion:
Patterico's Pontifications and The Other McCain
CBS Denver:
Parents Complain About School Ad Excluding Whites From Tutoring Program — AURORA, Colo. (CBS4) - A school principal said no white children were allowed at an after-school tutoring program, and now some parents call it discrimination. — The principal at Mission Viejo Elementary in Aurora sent …
Discussion:
Patterico's Pontifications, The Daily Caller, Fox News and Weasel Zippers
Phil Plait / Slate:
BREAKING: Huge Meteor Blazes Across Sky Over Russia; Sonic Boom Shatters Windows [UPDATED] — Still frame from a dashcam video of a huge meteor over Russia. … Apparently, at about 09:30 local time, a very big meteor burned up over Chelyabinsk, a city in Russia just east of the Ural mountains …
Discussion:
Quartz, Guardian, Hot Air and The Maddow Blog
Jonathan Martin / Politico:
Lone Star rising — AUSTIN, Texas — California fancies itself as a trendsetter and Florida prizes its claim as a microcosm of America. — But when it comes to politics — both present-day battles and future trends — ground zero right now is the fastest-growing of the mega-states: Texas.
Paul Krugman / New York Times:
Rubio and the Zombies — The State of the Union address was not, I'm sorry to say, very interesting. True, the president offered many good ideas. But we already know that almost none of those ideas will make it past a hostile House of Representatives. — On the other hand, the G.O.P. reply …
Discussion:
Prairie Weather
John M. Broder / Wheels:
That Tesla Data: What It Says and What It Doesn't — The Model S at the Tesla Supercharger in the Interstate 95 service plaza in Milford, Conn. — Elon Musk , the chief executive of Tesla Motors, has now responded in detail to the account of my test drive of his Model S electric car …
Discussion:
The Atlantic Wire, Wired, New York Times, Green Car Reports, Brad DeLong, Wonkblog, The Daily Caller and TechCrunch, more at Mediagazer »
Daniel Strauss / The Hill:
Obama to press gun control during visit to Chicago's South Side — President Obama heads to his hometown Chicago on Friday to press Congress to act on his proposals to reduce gun violence. — Obama will deliver his remarks at the Hyde Park Academy at around 2:45 p.m. CT.
Discussion:
CNN
Fred Thys / WBUR:
WBUR Poll Gives Markey Slight Edge Over Lynch — BOSTON — A new WBUR poll (PDFs - topline, crosstabs) finds a competitive race between the two Democratic congressmen running in Massachusetts' special U.S. Senate election. — The poll, conducted by the MassINC Polling Group …
Discussion:
Ballot Box and First Read
Lloyd Grove / The Daily Beast:
Rahm Emanuel May Be Toying With 2016 Presidential Run — Obama's former chief of staff Rahm Emanuel might make a go for 2016, two well-connected Democrats tell Lloyd Grove—as long as Hillary doesn't. And the potty-mouthed Chicago mayor could win. — Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel …
Discussion:
Chicago Sun Times and Weasel Zippers
Matt Taibbi / Rolling Stone:
Gangster Bankers: Too Big to Jail — How HSBC hooked up with drug traffickers and terrorists. And got away with it — By — The deal was announced quietly, just before the holidays, almost like the government was hoping people were too busy hanging stockings by the fireplace to notice.
Discussion:
Taylor Marsh
Ian Swanson / The Hill:
Senate Dems unveil $110B sequester-replacement bill — Senate Democratic leaders unveiled a $110 billion sequester-replacement bill at a closed-door caucus meeting Thursday that would replace $85 billion in automatic spending cuts set for March 1. — The Senate Democratic package …
Discussion:
The Heritage Foundation
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Sam Stein / The Huffington Post:
Sequester Cuts: Senate Democrats Settle On Replacement Plan
Sequester Cuts: Senate Democrats Settle On Replacement Plan
Discussion:
The Plum Line, Daily Kos and The Hill